A recent WHO bulletin reports that deaths from mesothelioma; a type of cancer that typically affects the lining of the lungs, are on the rise. The bulletin reports that more than 92,000 people in 83 countries died of mesothelioma between 1994 and 2008. The WHO has been compiling mortality statistics on mesothelioma since 1994.

The incidence of mesothelioma is reported as being higher in men than women. According to WHO the period between exposure to asbestos fibres and development of mesothelioma is typically 30 years and the median survival time from diagnosis is 9-12 months. It was found that the disease predominantly affects those over 70 years of age, largely due to the time it takes for the disease to develop.

As the rate of mesothelioma deaths increases, the WHO has declared that asbestos-related diseases should be eliminated throughout the world. Asbestos exposure is also linked with asbestosis, lung cancer and other respiratory conditions. 

The bulletin also reported that 88% of deaths occurred in high- income counties and 12 % in middle-income nations.  Deaths were concentrated in a relatively small number of countries with 45.2% occurring in Japan, the United Kingdom or the United States.

In the UK 17.8 deaths per million were attributed to mesothelioma. Data from the report shows that the UK has the second highest number of reported deaths due to mesothelioma, with only the United States reporting higher numbers.  The report did state that some of these figures could be due to the under reporting of mesothelioma, and that this continues to be a problem world wide.

Although the disease is still currently more prevalent in the developed world; with the ever increasing use of asbestos in developing nations, the  report states that the incidents are only projected to rise and increasingly affect these countries.

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About John Pickering and Partners LLP

John Pickering and Partners LLP- Specialist mesothelioma compensation solicitors

We are a dedicated personal injury law firm who do not do other types of work.  We specialise in claiming damages for asbestos sufferers. We have been handling compensation claims for industrial disease for over 30 years. Most of our work involves acting for asbestos disease victims who suffer from mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis and pleural thickening. We only act for the sufferers of asbestos diseases and never act for the organisations that caused the asbestos exposure or their insurers. We have an ethical approach and donate 10% of our net profits every year to good causes that help asbestos sufferers.  We have set up a charitable trust to help to fund medical research into mesothelioma and various organisations that help and support asbestos sufferers and their families.

Find out more about our donations to good causes. We have also been involved in most of the landmark judgments that shape this area of law. Find out more about us or  our reported cases. We are on the panels of several asbestos support groups and are ranked highly by legal guides.  Find out more about what others have said about us.

John Pickering and Partners LLP is a niche legal practice that has represented Claimants in the leading asbestos "test cases" in the last ten years. The firm represented Sylvia Barker in Barker v Corus (UK) Plc, a case that highlighted the legal tactics of employers and insurers trying to cut back their compensation liabilities to mesothelioma sufferers, and which prompted the amendment of the Compensation Act 2006 to ensure full compensation for mesothelioma claims. The firm represented two of the three Claimants in the landmark Fairchild appeal, in which the insurance industry tried unsuccessfully to block compensation altogether for mesothelioma sufferers unable to identify which of two or more sources of asbestos exposure had caused their illness.

The firm represented Alice Jefferson, a mesothelioma sufferer, whose illness and compensation claim against Cape Asbestos were featured in the important documentary "Alice: A Fight For Life." Shown by Yorkshire Television in July 1982, the programme was an important catalyst for legal change and public awareness of the plight of mesothelioma and other asbestos disease sufferers and a prompt for important legal reform.

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that affects the lining of certain bodily organs. It most commonly affects the lining of the lungs (the pleura) but it can affect other areas including organs in the abdominal cavity (the peritoneum).

More than 2,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year in the UK and there is one mesothelioma death every five hours. The number of deaths from mesothelioma increased from 153 in 1968 to 1,969 in 2004 and is expected to peak at 2,450 between 2011 and 2015. 

The first Action Mesothelioma Day was launched on 27th February 2006.  Its objectives were to raise awareness about mesothelioma, to improve the treatment and care of mesothelioma patients, and to lobby for better funding for research into mesothelioma and for the protection and education of people who may be exposed to asbestos.

If you need advice about an asbestos related illness, contact us now for information about making a claim for compensation.

Contact us to find out more about your entitlement to claim compensation if you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer or pleural thickening.

For more information about asbestos diseases-

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For practical information and support concerning mesothelioma-

www.mesothelioma-advice.co.uk

For more information about claiming for different types of asbestos disease-

Mesothelioma compensation claims

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Pleural thickening compensation claims

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Different asbestos conditions